Un-Aging Gracefully

The Curious case of Benjamin  Button was  a fantasy story written  by F. Scott Fitzgerald  in 1922.  The protagonist  born in 1860 as a ripe old  man of 70 years,   grows younger day by day  and eventually ceases to exist.  The theme  was later adapted to a film and also a musical.  This fantasy story was perhaps the first to suggest  reverse aging and differentiate between chronological age(CA) and biological age (BA) though not explicitly.   

Courtesy:wkipedia 

Roughly  50 years   later,  in 1969 British physician Alex Comfort championed  the argument  that BA can be measured and modified independent of CA.   Though he didn't  believe in reverse aging,  Comfort was convinced  that aging could be slowed down or modified considerably.  Later  it  became  evident that a host of external agents  including environmental, emotional, physical  etc  can permanently or temporarily  influence  aging by switching  specific genes on or off, without changing the  DNA sequence.  To estimate BA  Prof Steve Horvath    came up with an algorithm  called   Epigenetic Clock.  With an error margin of about 2.77 years, this  mathematical process has found universal applicability.  (Please see:Science Delights: How old are you ?). 

 Elizabeth Blackburn received Nobel Prize for Physology/Medicine in 2009 for the discovery of telomeres the protective caps on the tips of chromosomes which get shortened with age.    Blackburn  with  her team   provided solid  scientific proof linking psychological and chronic stress directly to  accelerated cellular aging.  In a comparative study,   the team    found that  high-stress groups  had  not only significantly shorter telomeres and lower levels of telomerase but also showed   9 to 17 additional years of cellular aging compared to low-stress groups depending on the severity of the trauma. 

  

A  question that  pops up immediately is : if the stress is removed/ released, can the effects of aging be reversed?    The answer is yes and there are ample proofs. It has been  shown lately  that while acute physiological stressors like emergency surgery, severe COVID-19, or pregnancy can rapidly elevate biological age,  a reversal  to baseline is registered within  days to months of  recovery. Likewise   psychosocial traumas  such as  job loss, low socioeconomic status, loss of near and dear ones etc.  can also lead to temporary   aging  but  reverses when conditions improve.   In  this context  Professor Jesse Poganik of  Harvard Medical School and his team recently  made a remarkable observation.  That  when organs are transplanted    irrespective of the donor's age, the transplanted organ  quickly attains the recipient's age.  That  is  an older heart can become biologically younger in a  a younger body, while a younger heart  ages faster inside an older body. In essence reaffirming that  biological aging is  dynamic and  reversible/  modifiable though not to the extent envisaged by Fitzgerald. 

The quest for drugs/processes to rejuvenate/replace  aged or damaged cells. has already begun. Biotechnology companies   Altos Labs,   Life Biosciences, NewLimit. Retro Bio etc. are pioneers in this field.   Currently Life Biosciences is conducting human trials for their gene therapy product   ER-100  designed    to treat age related vision problems.  

TAILPIECE:  

Both  ageing and aging  are correct and accepted.   Ageing is the preferred spelling in British and Australian English whereas Americans and Canadians prefer   Aging 

REFERENCES:

1. Epigenetic Clocks: Beyond Biological Age, Using the Past to Predict the Present and Future

2. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress

3. Aging vs. biological age: Conceptual considerations for age reversal claims

4. Molecular pathways linking chronic psychological stress to accelerated aging: mechanisms and interventions

5. Biological age is increased by stress and restored upon recovery

6.. Old hearts age backwards: transplanted organs adjust to host’s biological age

7. Transplanted hearts may take on the age of their new bodies

8. Human trials exploring anti-aging medicines